Chimera, Redux
by DanielRook
Summary: What happens after the episode Chimera, when Helen and Tesla have their post mortum in the study. Just my thoughts. Innuendo, leading to something adult?
1. Chapter 1

"Do you even have to ask me that question Nikola?" Helen's smile was beatific as she took another sip from the Riedel crystal goblet, the red liquid coating the side of the bowl and drawing back into place leaving subtle transparent red legs as she set it on the table in front of her and Nikola. He had drawn up his lips in a half smile, half sneer, as he pondered the implications of her unsaid answer. Who would she have chosen if the deck had not already been stacked in her favor; her protégé or her millennial traveling companion? He wasn't completely comforted by the answer he came up with.

"I have so many more things to offer than your young William."

"Do you now?" The polished accent never ceased to send a chill down his spine when she spoke. It was elegance made audible, and far more pleasing than the rough talk of the Americans he found himself surrounded with, or the guttural Serbian he remembered from his youth.

"I have centuries of experience," he began.

"Experience at what? Getting the both of us into trouble?" She looked at him with raised eyebrows, questioning the sense of his statement.

"Now Helen, if you want to get into trouble with me, all you have to do is ask." His eyebrows went up and he grinned at her in that way he had, suggesting far more than his words. She sighed, letting her shoulders visibly fall.

"Nikola, can we have any conversation without you falling into those innuendoes?"

"Of course we can Helen." He edged closer to her on the settee, smiling.

"And what kind of conversation would that be?"

"The one where you try to seduce me."

"Nikola!"

Part of her wanted to smack him, but she knew, for one, that it wouldn't be of any use, and two, that he might actually like it.

"It's been a long day Nikola and I'm going to bed." She stood, intent on leaving him behind to amuse himself with his charm.

"Ah, but I haven't brought my pajamas Helen, whatever shall we do?" he stood rapidly to block her way to the door.

"I'm going by myself Nikola." And as she moved around him, he reached out and caught her hand in his.

"But that isn't what you really want, is it Helen?" He spun to face her again.

"It most assuredly is." And she tried to pull her hand free of his grasp, but he held on, actually twisting his own wrist upwards, bringing her hand with it.

"Why?" He asked, looking right into her eyes, watching her breathe through parted lips.

'Why what?"

"Why do you continue to reject me Helen? What are you afraid of?"

"Certainly not you." She matched his stare with one far more formidable than his doey eyes.

"I begin to wonder some days Helen." He brought their clasped hands up to his lips, not quite touching them, but leaving only just enough room that she could feel his warm breath on her skin. It made her shudder, which only encouraged him to continue. "Why not me? I know you better than anyone else alive."

"You give yourself undeserved credit."

"You work so hard to keep me alive Helen, through the transformations, through the gifts of the source blood, through the viruses, and villains. One might think you actually felt something for me." She could not watch his lips as he spoke to her; they were still hidden by their hands, her hand, that she had not pulled away.

"I do feel something for you Nikola." She whispered, "You are my friend." But her tone wavered.

"Would it be so terrible Helen?" He left a pause, filled with nothing but the sounds of the two of them drawing breath. He imagined he could hear her heartbeat, and emboldened by that, and holding her eyes, he brought her hand right to his lips and kissed it gently, then released it. "If I were to kiss you?" He sought the answer in the way she looked at him, and the way she responded. He was not disappointed.

"Nikola," the word, his name, was a whisper, an utterance of the heart and not the mind. It was glorious and he closed the small gap between them, reaching this time, not for her hand, but for the smooth skin of her cheek, brushing it with three fingertips, feeling her bend to his touch, just subtly, nothing he might ever have noticed were he fully human; but of course he wasn't.

"I have loved you since I first laid eyes on you, since you first touched my skin and gave me the blood, made me one of the five, made me one of you." He turned her head, just slightly with his fingers, watched her eyes close, and pressed his mouth to hers, feeling the longed for softness, tasting the warmed breath on his tongue, clutching her body around the waist and pulling it to his. Kissing her with the invitation for more.

"Nikola, please?" He did not stop to explore any implications of her entreaty, if it was to stop, if it was to question, or if it was to beg, he simply chose his own interpretation and crushed his body to her, forcing his mouth over hers again, parting her lips and driving his tongue into her mouth to seek out the same. He only knew he had done right when her arms wrapped around his back, maintaining their embrace; and by the fact that she hadn't tried to bite him in his zeal.

The force of her mouth against his was as strong as the reverse, and the grinding of the vermillion was echoed in the dance of her hips. For an instant, just a moment, Helen let herself be completely enveloped in the now. When she finally had to pull away from him she had to drop her head, and draw deep breaths, her hands traced around to his chest, elbows locking, palms flat, keeping him at a distance from her as she restored that nature she had withdrawn into for so many decades; the one that would not be hurt again.

"We cannot do this Nikola." She spoke to the floor, a rare moment of insecurity in her own resolve, preventing her from looking into his dark eyes again.

"Of course we can Helen." He tried to coax her, feeling the longed for goals finally within his reach.

"It isn't that simple Nikola."

"What is so complicated? You are a woman, I am I man. I desire you beyond anything else in this world. And I believe you desire me as well. Perhaps not to the same degree, but I am willing to overlook that. Now, come, let me take you to bed finally, and make love to you."

"Nikola, stop!" There was no misunderstanding that command. The old Magnus was resurfacing and Nikola cursed his fading luck.

"What?" He sounded quite annoyed, feeling his one shot slipping away.

"There is too much at stake."

"What, that we'll be discovered, by your Bigfoot manservant, or your HAP, Heinrich? Or worse, by William? Do you really think I am incapable of being discrete?"

"Of course you are Nikola, you're an egomaniacal, narcissistic Vampire."

"You flatter me Helen."

"Never the less."

"So if I could keep my mouth shut you'd sleep with me?"

She sighed, looking at him with a pursed smile.

"We're better off as friends than lovers Nikola." The words cut him.

"Can't I be the judge of that?"

"Not tonight."

It took almost everything she had to walk away from him just then, and Helen's head continued to pound and her heart to race even when she was well down the hallway and around the corner from the study she had left him in. She stopped for a moment, took a deep breath and considered turning around. But common sense, and the reality of her situation took control, as it always did, (even if it had been a little late in coming that evening) and she continued on to her bedroom, alone, and unmolested, and just a little sad.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you very much for the reviews that you sent for my first chapter, I hadn't really considered continuing this, until so many folks asked me to. So here you have it, a little more angst and buildup.

Daniel

"No!" It screamed in his head like an alien entity (which of course it wasn't, totally different feeling, he knew that). "No! You are not letting this happen again Nikola. You are not letting her walk away from you!" She had left him in the study, staring out at the black sky, over the rooftops of the old city, a haven for so many abnormals, yet completely disguised to all but those in the know. He was an abnormal, perhaps one of the most ferocious of them all, Sanguine Vampiris, one of the most ancient. And he would not be denied again, not when he had felt her kiss, and seen her hesitation, she wanted him to chase her, or at least, he hoped she wanted him to chase her, because that was what his heart was urging him to do. A bent head, flexed fingers, a shuddering breath and he brought the Vampire aspect of his nature to bear, not to attack, but rather to track, to overtake, and to lend courage. It was a simple matter to take a different route, the whole mansion was a circular confluence, and pass her as she walked. He waited, leaned just to the side of her door, for her to arrive, resuming his human form, he did not call it his natural one, he hadn't quite cemented that decision yet, and it did change periodically. He could hear her footfall and he made himself look casual, and as charming as he could, even though his blood (human and Vampire) was boiling under his skin for her. She came around the corner.

"Nikola?" She seemed genuinely surprised to see him there.

"I'm sorry Helen, I just couldn't let you walk away like that." He didn't move to block her path, but tried to capture her eyes, to force her to deal with him.

"I can't do this Nikola."

"Can't or won't?"

"That isn't fair Nikola." She raised her brows at him again, spelling out her annoyance on her face.

"No, what isn't fair is how you are treating this." His newly stoked courage wasn't letting him back away.

"There is no 'this', there is you, and there is me, nothing more Nikola." Her insistence was strong, but not unbreakable. He could hear that in her voice, and the way she continued to repeat his name.

"But you know inside that you want there to be something more, just like I want it Helen."

He reached for her hands, grasping up the left one before she could withdraw them to wrap her core protectively; physically closing herself off just as she was doing emotionally. Her face darted around to the ceiling. She was looking for the cameras; he knew it.

"I ask you again Helen, what are you afraid of?" He guided her around so that her back was now facing the wall, she letting him move her, and boldly kissed her hand again, feeling the tremor there.

"You are making a scene Nikola." She said in clipped tones, speaking through clenched teeth.

He looked deliberately at the ceiling, he couldn't see the camera, but he knew it was there. He wasn't so terrible as to smile at it, or wave, but he kept Helen's hand wrapped in his.

"Then invite me in and no one will be able to spy on us."

Helen sighed deeply, and Nikola watched her chest rise and fall; she either couldn't make up her mind what to do, or she was expecting help to arrive at any minute and remove him by force. He took a chance on the former.

"Are you embarrassed by the thought of being with me Helen?"

"No." She whispered, again not meeting his eyes.

"Are you afraid that I will hurt you?"

She said nothing.

"You are afraid of being hurt Helen?" He softened his voice, understanding where her hesitance was coming from. She had lost too many loved ones over the years, family, friends, her daughter. All he wanted to do, truly in his heart, was to give her some measure of happiness, to ease that blackness. It likely seemed easier to her to not open up at all, rather than risk another void.

"I understand hurt Helen. You may not believe it, but I do."

"How can you understand hurt Nikola?"

"Because every time you reject me I feel it," He thumped a closed fist against his chest. "Because I love you, and I want you to love me."

"Every time I reject you?" Helen's eyebrows rose, and her voice became sharp. "Every time I reject you, you go out and find some companion to drown your sorrow in. So don't tell me about hurt Nikola."

If it was possible for the man to become paler he did just then, and he dropped her hand, stepping away from her, feeling quite cold.

"I have known you to be many things Helen, but cruel was never one of them." He said it bluntly, because his heart was suddenly feeling frozen, and though he had no desire to return the hurt he continued to speak. "Is that what you really think of me Helen?" He watched her practiced stern, efficient expression begin to melt to one of horrified realization.

"Oh, Nikola." She raised her fingers to her mouth as if she could take it back.

"Helen, you let everyone around you fall in love, William has a girlfriend, Biggy has his eyes on Kate in the most interesting crush I've ever seen, even Heinrich is having a baby, but you keep yourself locked away. Perhaps I don't know you at all." He drew in a deep, sad breath, "I won't beg," he told her, and turned from her, beginning to walk away.

"I will try not to darken your doorstep again." He spoke it to her, and to no one in particular. It was done.

"Nikola, please?" Her voice pleaded quietly, and he stopped in his tracks. His shoulders fell visibly from the sturdy set he had put them in, the frame he needed to finally leave her behind. But he could not turn around.

"I am so sorry Nikola, I should never had said those things, I didn't mean them, it was awful of me."

He let his head drop to his chest, finding himself staring directly at his shoes.

"You're right." She added.

Only then did he turn around to look at her.

"Right about what?" He whispered, looking utterly defeated just then to her eyes.

"Right about me." A heavy sigh rattled her chest. Perhaps she had known the truth all along and just suppressed it? Whatever the case, Helen Magnus had never dreamed that it would be Nikola Tesla who would bring her out of it and make her face it. She watched his eyes take her in again, looking for some further clue as to her motivation.

"I've held everything close to the breast as it were since Ashley died Nikola. It was the worst hurt I have ever felt. And when," she stuttered, "and when I had John back, the real John for those few hours, without the monster inside him I felt hope again, only to have it wrenched from me. I have such important work to do Nikola, you understand? If I fall apart what will happen to all these people here? How will we protect them? It is even more desperate now, now that the government has stepped in, now that we are on our own. If I can't lead," She suppressed a sob as she looked into his soft dark eyes, the beautiful liquid sheen drawing her into a desired safety. "If I can't lead what will happen?"

"Helen, nothing will happen to you. You are the strongest person I have ever known. But it is time to take a chance, time to be true to the beautiful soul within you." She felt his hand, not watching the movement, just feeling the warmth of his fingertips brushing up the tensed muscles of her right arm, arms she had crossed over her chest tightly.

"Nikola, I am so tired of feeling alone."

"You are not alone Helen, you will always have me." She let herself slump into his arms, just knowing that they were there for her. She kept herself from crying, but just barely. A wash of emotions coursed over her body, leaving her feeling weakened. When she was able to lift her head from Nikola's shoulder she found him looking into her eyes, no leering smile, no sparkling lechery, just Nikola, a face she had seen in dreams and nightmares for nearly two centuries. She could not help but smile back at him.

He had been ready to go, to walk away. He might love her, but his pride would not let him beg, not if she thought so little of his professed feelings for her, not if she thought that his offered love was simply a means to sex. But she had stopped him, and his heart had demanded it when he heard her voice. He was not without sympathy for her situation, and to hold her again was as comforting for him as it was for her. As he looked down into her eyes, brightened by the tears she was holding back he couldn't contain himself. He slowly brought his mouth down to hers again, kissing her carefully, just letting their lips match, forcing only the barest of pressure against her mouth, feeling as her hands encircled his waist, and then climbed his back, pulling his body towards hers, so that he could feel the rise and fall of her chest against his. He closed his eyes, and allowed himself to simply feel.

"Nikola? Please don't leave."


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Hot and heavy, well, maybe not really heavy, but enough that if such things offend you, you should probably move on. Anyone left? Oh good. Here's the end of my little tale, maybe someday it will play out for Helen and Nikola. If not, we have this.

Drop me a line and tell me what you thought.

Daniel

Her bedroom was as he had imagined it would be. Not a reflection of the efficiency that was her mainstay, but of the time she was born, and was raised. The elegance of real wood, and dark stains, rich tapestries, and warm duvets; they all spoke of the true Helen Magnus. The woman, the genius, the immortal; who though she did not allow herself the joys of intimate congress, at least fed one need for luxury and comfort. But now, perhaps, there was a promise of something more.

She was the one to close the door, and the one to bolt it. And she was the one to come to him, as he stood motionless at the center of the room, waiting for her. Her hands reached for his black jacket, and her fingers pushed it from his shoulders. He did nothing to catch it as it slid to the floor. But then it was his turn.

He took her face gently in both his hands, long fingers wrapping the tender skin, lit almost amber by the glass hurricane lamps on her walls. Her hands came up to rest on his forearms, a shudder ran through him and he contemplated what it would be like, finally to touch her and to have her. Again he kissed her, pushing her lips apart from the outset, curling his tongue into her mouth, finding hers, tasting her, feeling her willing response, and the way her body softened to him. There were no words, only the sounds of their stolen breaths.

It was Helen who shrugged out of her long vest, casting it over the wing chair that flanked a small reading table close to her bed. Then she began to undo the buttons on the front of Nikola's shirt, exposing his chest to her warm fingers. Nikola let his eyes close and received her feather like caresses on his bare skin, letting his hands come to rest on her hips, pulling her towards him subtly. When he felt her warmth disappear suddenly he opened his eyes to find her unbuttoning her own blouse, letting the tails fall free, giving him just the barest view of her pale skin and the white satin v at the center of her lingerie. He drew in a sharp breath, and then pushed the fabric open like a theatre curtain, daring to sweep across her belly. She let the blouse fall away as he tore his shirt off and practically leapt towards her in a zeal he could suddenly not contain, wrapping her up in his arms, tugging at her skirt until it too fell to the floor, her stepping from the puddle on legs he simply wanted to devour.

She stepped back towards her bed, a four-postered, canopied oasis, topped with a feather duvet that engulfed them as he guided her backwards onto it. Hovering over her for a moment he shed his pants, watching her body the whole time, knowing his own was betraying the complete desperation he felt for her. She was perfection in his eyes, she was more than he had dared dream about, she was a vision in white, her raven hair spread out in waves around her head, and she was going to be his.

"Helen." He whispered her name, as much to assure himself that this was not another dream, there had been so many, late at night, lonely dreams of her finally understanding.

"Nikola." She breathed back and he let his mouth light on her neck, another thing he had dreamed of (he supposed it was the Vampire in him, there was such passion that could be part of feeding). But his kept his fangs at bay and simply kissed and suckled and teased his mouth across the virgin skin, tasting only her salt, and her desires made flesh suddenly. He couldn't stop himself, grinding his hips against hers, even as he let his mouth trail downwards, to the satin and soft flesh of her breasts, pushing the moulded cups away and bringing the pale pink centers into his mouth, rolling them with his tongue, feeling her buck against him, and force herself even harder against his body, moaning quietly, spurring him onward.

His hands pulled the band free and he allowed himself the luxury of just looking at her for a moment, but just a moment before he needed to touch her again. She smelled of clean water, the hint of salt, the crisp air of the marine world, the sunlight and the day as he tangled his face in her hair, fingers pressing against her abdomen, hips grinding against her, his manhood desperate. That was when he felt her hands sliding away the satin that lay between them, and then his own silk.

Her skin was hot as he lay over her, and every move she made resonated across the length of him, making it so hard to concentrate. And he wanted to concentrate, he wanted nothing to be by instinct, everything had to be perfect, and new, and memorable, because a part of him still feared that this might be the only time, and if these memories were going to have to sustain him, they had to be flawless for them both.

"You are so beautiful Helen." He whispered into her ear, nipping at the lobe, breathing slowly, and raggedly. She arched against him again, giving him just a taste of the heat that awaited him. He moaned out loud, revealing himself to her.

"Please Nikola."

He only had to hear his name from her lips, and feeling himself pushed to the brink of control, he rocked back away from her, and grasped himself around the engorged base, electricity rushing across his length at the sudden attention. The blood was pounding so loud he could hear it, but he forced control onto himself, looking at her first, seeing her body trembling in anticipation of him. Then he brushed himself down between her legs, and finally it was her turn to moan, and close her eyes, and part her lips, and it became too much for Nikola to handle. He drove himself inside her, crying out at the absolute bliss he felt envelop him.

Her body moved in time to his, matching the thrusts, curling herself upwards to touch him, and to caress his chest through the heaving breaths that wracked it. He leaned down to capture her mouth again, forcing his tongue against hers, working the rhythm and stealing her cries. He felt his own heart pounding in his chest and found his hands, braced against the bedclothes shuddering none-the-less. He was absolutely captured by the way she felt. And the feeling was better than a fine Claret, better than flowing blood, better than anything his immortal mind could recall to that point. The only thing that even came close was his awakening after the source blood; the way he had opened his eyes to a new world, a new body, a new sense of being, she brought that all back to him and it was glorious.

The music that slipped from her lips was passion, and as he listened he could hear her peak rising in the song of her breath and moans, and muscles, clenching around him, hands holding him firm to her. Their bodies were slick against each other and the rising scents pushed him to drive harder against her, till he knew his own passions were at the point of erupting. He hoped to god that she was close as well, because he had reached the point where he could no longer restrain himself and so he bent his face to her again, and kissed her hard, and then came for her.

Suddenly then there were stars, and the wash of her body over his, and a lightheaded bliss that that stole every sense, or rather, blended them all together in a joyous burst that robbed him of everything rational except the need to hold her. And so he did.

Helen pulled the blankets over their bodies, noting with a smile that they had made less a mess of them than she had thought. Nikola's arms and chest were warm, blanket or no blanket, and it was easy enough to snuggle herself back into their safety and simply relax. She felt his lips kissing her forehead softly as she did.

"I'm sorry Nikola, I didn't mean to wake you."

"I wasn't sleeping Helen, I wouldn't dare chance missing a moment with you."

She heard herself laugh quietly, not with the cynicism that might have accompanied such a statement only a few hours before; no, just then, she believed his words were the truth. She turned her face upwards to gaze into his.

"No one liners for me Nikola?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, fully expecting that he would not let the chance slip away. She thought she would be rewarded when he curled up one side of his lips in a grin. But it was not to be.

"I love you Helen." He answered her.

"You keep saying that Nikola." She stroked her fingers down the side of his face, watching as his eyelids fluttered and feeling as he turned towards her touch.

"Because it's true."

"Oh Nikola." She sighed, feeling a warmth in her chest that she had not allowed herself to feel in a great long time.

"I love the way you say my name Helen, it makes me feel worthwhile."

"You are worthwhile Nikola. I have never believed any differently." She took another small kiss from his lips.

"Though you might have intimated it once in awhile."

Helen drew her lips together in a closed smile, her eyes sparkling.

"Perhaps once in awhile." She paused, "Nikola."

He kissed her again.

"Should I leave you to your peace then?"

"No." Helen reached to embrace him, preventing him from pulling away from her.

"If I stay I must warn you that I am likely to make love to you again." His eyes sparkled with the joie de vivre that was his trademark.

"I'll take my chances." She answered with a grin.

"Oh thank god." He rolled himself atop her again, her feeling the wonderful weight of his body pressing her down into the softness of the bed.

"You had no actually intention of leaving did you?"

"Not a one." He conceded as he nuzzled into her neck, nipping at her skin, while his hands ventured downwards.

The first thing Henry did when he got up in the morning was to check the security logs from the night before, after he got his coffee of course. He settled behind his desk, stainless steel thermos to his right and called up the video footage of the night previous. It had been a quiet night; everyone had been exhausted after the virtual Adam debacle of the day and the failed Cloud experiment. No alarms had gone off, and he expected to breeze through the footage at double time, if not triple. He took a sip of his coffee and began the playback.

As he had suspected the hallways were quiet, and the motion sensors showed nothing but the normal traffic. Folks readying themselves for bed, Biggy taking a last round of his charges, Will grabbing a snack from the kitchen and Helen heading to her room. But wait? Henry nearly choked on his coffee. Tesla was there, and they seemed to be discussing something, no arguing about something, and he became concerned. He watched the silent conversation for a few moments more and leapt from his chair as Tesla corned the doctor and grabbed up her hand. He couldn't see everything that was transpiring because of the camera angle, but felt a little relief as Tesla seemed to back off. He could see the hurt in Magnus' face as he did so, but just as suddenly an argument turned into Tesla going back to her, taking her into his arms, holding her, and then, oh my god, kissing her.

He was ready to tear from the room, to go and hunt Tesla down, he could feel his dual nature rising in protection of his friend, but a last glance at the monitor stopped him. Magnus had put her arms around Tesla, and she was allowing his attentions. In another moment they both disappeared into her room, and Henry fell heavily back into his chair.

"Holy crap." He said to no one in particular, then he closed the file, dragging it into an encrypted storage folder he kept for just such things, accidentally caught on tape. "I am going to need something stronger than this to wipe that image out of my head." He said looking at his coffee. He put it down and decided to go for a long run.

**Fin**


End file.
